Four die in plane crash west of Las Cruces

Federal Aviation Association investigating crash site today

LAS CRUCES &GT;&GT; A small plane carrying four passengers crashed near the Southern New Mexico State Fairgrounds on Wednesday, killing all on board.

New Mexico State Police Lt. James Frietze said the twin engine, fixed-winged aircraft crashed in the desert about a half-mile southwest of the fairgrounds at approximately 6:45 p.m.

A news release from state police described the plane as engulfed in flames.

The aircraft had just left from the Las Cruces Airport and was headed to Phoenix, the news release said.

Witnesses told state police the aircraft was flying at a low altitude.

Frietze said the Federal Aviation Administration would be sending a team to the crash site at 6 a.m. today.

The last plane crash near the airport was in December 2012, when a single-engine airplane went down about 2 1/2 to 3 miles from the airport, south of Interstate 10. The plane's pilot was the only person in the aircraft, and appeared to be unhurt, according to Sun-News archives. A single-engine Cessna crashed shortly after takeoff from the Las Cruces Airport in May 2010. The pilot and two passengers suffered injuries, but were able to walk back to the terminal, the Sun-news reported